Give Later
What legacy do you want to leave?
Organizing your affairs is an act of love for your family and your community. Leaving a planned gift is a way to show your dedication to the causes you care about. Some planned gifts entitle you to an immediate income tax deduction; others provide flexibility during your lifetime and can provide benefits to your estate and heirs. Join generations of people who have built our community’s endowment through planned gifts in their estate plans.
Your planned giving options
Creating an impactful gift can be simple
Gifts come in all shapes and sizes
Consider your goals to determine which gift type is best for you. No matter the type, we will direct your gift based on your wishes. Our development staff is always happy to discuss the best giving options for you.
Planned gifts can be made from:
- Your will or trust
- 401k or IRA retirement plans
- Closely held stock, stock, bonds or mutual funds
- Life insurance plans
- Health savings accounts
- Real estate
- and more!
Create a fund through your gift
Your planned gift can be given to an existing fund or, depending on the fund value, can create a fund at the Community Foundation. You may set up the fund in your name or a loved one’s name to create your legacy.
Special Giving Opportunities
Gifts that provide income
A charitable gift annuity is an agreement between you and the Community Foundation. In exchange for a gift of cash or appreciated assets, you receive fixed payments for life and may benefit from tax deductions.
Giving from your IRA
If you are 72 or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 annually and won’t need to recognize the distribution as income by making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD).
Meet Our Donor Partners
Giving for our community's future
Philanthropists choose the Community Foundation for our experienced staff, range of giving options, partnerships with professional advisors, ability to accept complicated assets and deep community knowledge. For more than a century we have created personal, comfortable experiences and supported donor partners as they explore their giving options.
Recognizing those who create a legacy
By including the Community Foundation in your estate plans, you will become a member of the Metz Legacy Society, which honors those who put their trust in the Community Foundation to help to carry out their philanthropic legacy. If you have already included the Community Foundation in your estate plan, please let us know! We want to ensure we understand your charitable intentions and can celebrate your commitment.
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Selma Tucker wants his gifts to help people build better lives. The full scope of Selma’s legacy is yet to be written, but he knows the type of impact he’d like to make. He decided to support the Community Foundation after his lifetime by naming the organization a beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
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After their passing, Karen Kania and Peg McClure’s Donor Advised fund will be combined with a gift from their estate to create the McKania Fund for the Economically Disadvantaged and will continue their legacy of providing for people facing housing and food insecurity.
Connecting with Professional Advisors
Collaborating to achieve charitable goals
Working together as part of an advisor team
Many donor partners choose to work with a professional advisor to explore their personal financial situation and make charitable giving decisions. If you would like to connect with a advisor but don’t know where to start, we can help. Our team is glad to helping you explore your options or point you toward someone who might be a good fit. The full list of advisor partners we work with regularly can be found at GRFoundation.org/Advisors.
Are you an advisor?
The Community Foundation has a deep understanding of our community’s needs, and is a resource to support your work with clients who want to make an impact. Connect with us to discuss working together for a great client experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Some donors prefer to support the broad, ever-changing needs of the community. Others wish to have more hands-on involvement in grantmaking. Here are the fund types the Community Foundation offers:
- Fund for Community Good (Unrestricted): As community needs change, so will the programs that the funds support. Community Foundation staff, committee members and the Board decide how these funds are granted. The funds also support leadership initiatives. View recent grants.
- Field of Interest Fund: Donors select a specific area of interest, such as the arts, environment, children or health, and establish a fund to permanently support it. Community Foundation staff, committee members and the Board decide how these funds are granted.
- Donor Advised Fund: Individuals, families or businesses recommend grants to the nonprofits they care about most. If desired, donors can design a family grantmaking plan that includes the next generation.
- Scholarship Fund: Improve the lives of students with a permanent source of higher education funding. A board-approved volunteer committee reviews applications for the scholarship and selects the recipients based on donor criteria.
- Nonprofit Endowment Fund: Provides endowment funding for a specific nonprofit organization. The organization can build the fund over time. The nonprofit benefiting from the fund can take annual distributions or preserve available dollars for a large expense.
Learn more about the funds offered at the Community Foundation.
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There are many ways to leave a bequest to the Community Foundation, including beneficiary designations of life insurance, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), Health Savings Accounts and others. Many donor partners find an advisor helpful in creating their planned gift, but it is not required. If you are considering creating or updating your will or trust, a list of professional advisor partners we have partnered with on charitable gifts is available at GRFoundation.org/Advisors.
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Yes. Please contact a member of our development team to discuss your options.
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- Specific or General Bequest: With a specific or general bequest, you designate that Grand Rapids Community Foundation is to receive a specific dollar amount or specific property.
"I give to Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, a Michigan nonprofit corporation, (specific property or $) to be held, administered, and used by its Board of Trustees for support of its grant making and programming in the areas of greatest need and opportunity." - Residuary Bequest: A residuary bequest is used to give Grand Rapids Community Foundation all (or a portion) of your property, after all debts, taxes, expenses, and all other bequests have been paid.
"I give to Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, a Michigan nonprofit corporation, (all/%) of the remainder of my estate, both real and personal, to be held, administered, and used by its Board of Trustees for support of its grant making and programming in the areas of greatest need and opportunity" - Contingent Bequest: In the event of an unexpected occurrence, a contingent bequest will ensure that property will pass to Grand Rapids Community Foundation rather than unintended beneficiaries.
"If, at any time, there is no one to take under the other provisions of this Will, I give the property or funds to Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, a Michigan nonprofit corporation, to be held, administered, and used by its Board of Trustees for support of its grant making and programming in the areas of greatest need and opportunity." - Restricted Bequest: You may prefer to restrict your bequest for a specific purpose. For example, if you wish to memorialize a family member or special friend or honor a colleague, you can establish a legacy fund that will provide support for a program in which you (or the person honored or memorialized) were particularly interested. A restricted bequest should be made in the broadest terms that are consistent with your purpose to guard against the possibility of your gift becoming impractical or obsolete.
"I give to Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, a Michigan nonprofit corporation, (describe gift) to be held, administered and used by its Board of Trustees for the establishment of an endowed (insert type of fund) fund. Distributions from the fund are to be used by its Board of Trustees for (describe permitted distributions). The fund shall be named ___________."
- Specific or General Bequest: With a specific or general bequest, you designate that Grand Rapids Community Foundation is to receive a specific dollar amount or specific property.
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Grand Rapids Community Foundation Tax ID Number: 38-2877959